The present invention relates to a mounting system. More specifically, but without limitation, the present invention relates to a mounting system for military shelters.
Military operations often require a shelter that is easily transported. Shelters are often modified and populated with electronics, and other equipment, to satisfy a mission peculiar application. Standard shelters come equipped with a limited number of tie down and lift provisions. Typically each shelter comes equipped with one tie-down and one lift ring located at each corner.
Shelters can be transported by air, ground or sea. When transported by air, shelters are secured to an airborne certified mission pallet, and the pallet is secured to the aircraft's cargo handling system rails and detents. At the time military shelters were introduced to the United States military, shelter tie down provisions were sufficient for structurally securing the shelter in the cargo area of an aircraft. However, command evaluation of military aircraft service history has resulted in more restrictive crash load criteria. This criteria enhances survivability in the event of a hull loss incident, but limits the applications of newly modified shelters without the installation of additional tie-down points on the shelter and/or structural modifications/re-designs. This results in weight increases to accommodate hard point additions in the shelter frame, in addition to the weight of the pallet itself. In addition, this adds additional problems of prepositioning the pallets, as well as additional wear and tear on the pallets and aircraft, as well as risks in the shelter shifting in transit.
Ground transportation of shelters requires the use of chain tie-down assemblies to secure the shelter to a transport vehicle. Use of chains presents a safety risk for shelter shifting in transit.
Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a mounting system for shelters that incorporates the listed benefits without the limitations inherent in present methods.